is a rechargeable contactless

smart card A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card (ICC or IC card) is a physical electronic authentication device, used to control access to a resource. It is typically a plastic credit card-sized card with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) c ...

ticketing system for public transport introduced by Takamatsu-Kotohira Electric Railroad (Kotoden) in

Takamatsu 270px, Takamatsu City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Takamatsu city center 270px, View from Yashima to Takashima port is a city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 414,134 in 190120 households and a popul ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

from February 2, 2005. The name comes from '' IC'' and ''iruka'' (dolphin), the latter being the mascot character of the company. Just like

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters ar ...

's Suica or

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, and i ...

ICOCA The card is a rechargeable contactless smart card used on the JR West rail network in Japan. The card was launched on November 1, 2003 for usage on the Urban Network, which encompasses the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe (Keihanshin). It ...

, the card uses

RFID Radio-frequency identification (RFID) uses electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. An RFID system consists of a tiny radio transponder, a radio receiver and transmitter. When triggered by an electromag ...

technology developed by

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

corporation known as

FeliCa FeliCa is a contactless Radio-frequency identification, RFID smart cards, smart card system from Sony in Japan, primarily used in electronic money cards. The name stands for ''Felicity Card''. First utilized in the Octopus card system in Hong Kong, ...

. As of July 2006, 77,000 cards are issued. The card is usable in all the Kotoden railway lines, as well as Kotoden bus lines. The function as an

electronic money Digital currency (digital money, electronic money or electronic currency) is any currency, money, or money-like asset that is primarily managed, stored or exchanged on digital computer systems, especially over the internet. Types of digital cu ...

is also experimented in the limited number of stores in Takamatsu, including Tenmaya Department Store.

Types of cards

*IruCa commuter pass: A rechargeable commuter pass. *IruCa ticket: **Free IruCa: Blue. A blank card that doesn't need a registration. **School IruCa: Yellow. Students of some selected schools can use this. **Senior IruCa: Purple. For 65 years old or above. **Kids IruCa: Red. For elementary school students. **Green IruCa: Green. For handicapped customers. Fares always become half priced.

External links

*
Official website by Kotoden
*

Takamatsu map showing stores that accept IruCa. {{japan-rail-transport-stub Fare collection systems in Japan Contactless smart cards